DIY Extracurricular Activities at Home

One day back in 2013 I was driving my kids through town when my 8 year-old yelled from the back seat, “They have cooking classes! I want cooking classes!” Looking out the window, I saw a small shop in a strip mall offering cooking classes for kids. Later I found out they cost $20 per weekly class. I knew Alexis would love cooking classes and it would be a really great activity for her. I also knew it would be hard on me and the family. With 7 little kids and one due in a few months, it was a struggle to go places. See this post on why I don’t do very many extracurricular activities.

As we drove past, my brain quickly thought about the cons for this cooking class:

• Costs money we didn’t have.
• Time consuming (takes an hour to get ready, load up, drive there, then the hour of class, then 20 minutes home.)
• Disrupts the whole family’s schedule.
• Alexis probably wouldn’t get to have much choice in what they learned to make each week
• Alexis would be rushed to finish her food in the hour time limit.
• She would probably have a lot of wasted time with a class of little kid cooks and not much actual cooking time.
• Because it isn’t as fun as she expected, she may choose to not like cooking anymore.

I thought, “I can do a cooking class with her that’s just as good or even better than that one.” So that’s exactly what we did. It was the end of summer when I sit down with each child and talk to them about what subjects they want to do and make our our checklists for school. So I sat with Alexis and we planned her year long cooking class with me. She was sooo excited and it turned out to be one of the best decisions I made with her and her schooling. We had a great time, bonded, and made fantastic memories–me and Alexis cooking together, and also the kids and I getting to eat her tasty food every Friday.

Alexis’s DIY Extracurricular Cooking Class

For Alexis’s cooking class we decided we’d make a fancy snack every Friday. We have snack time at 2:30 every day and usually just put out something fast like carrots and celery. But instead we would actually make something and we’d do it together. We made a schedule of all the Friday dates of the whole school year and then first picked out seasonal foods to put on those dates.

For October Alexis picked a different Halloween snack for each Friday. For November she picked Thanksgiving themed snacks and for December she picked Christmas. Any extra Fridays she put in other fun snacks she came across while looking for seasonal foods. She made snacks from different countries during the weeks of the Winter Olympics. Sometimes she made something that went with our school work. Like when we studied Thoreau she made Thoreau bread. It was so much fun! Everyone looked forward to Fridays and I still treasure those memories.

Here are two pictures: The mummy bread and spinach dip Alexis made. And a fondue she made with fruits and chocolate and then homemade bread and melted cheese. Alexis is in the red with braids.

Tips for DIY extracurricular activities at home

Spend the money on supplies for your whole family

Instead of spending $20 per art lesson for a child for a semester, take that money and buy supplies for the whole family. When my husband was in medical school and my friends were putting their kids in art lessons, there was no way I could afford $200 for art classes. To comfort myself I decided to budget $20 for school/art supplies per school year for the whole family and I was thrilled to have it. We bought brand new crayons and markers, a ream of paper and some cheap paints. This was early 2000’s when every store had crayons 25 cents a box to get you to buy your school supplies there. This set my yearly tradition. Every fall when everyone is signing up their kids for classes I pick an amount and allow myself to spend it on these educational expenses.

Some years I get art supplies: paints, sketch books for each child, charcoals, calligraphy pens, pastels, etc. Whatever new art or craft item we’d love to have.

One year I got soccer nets and a few balls.

One year I got jump ropes, hula hoops, sidewalk chalk, and a few other outside toys.

Another year we got two pairs of binoculars and did some birding. When we’d see birds outside we’d grab the binoculars and watch them for a whole hour out our window, taking turns with the binoculars. We’d sketch them in our sketch book and also identify them with these bird books we got by Stan Tekiela.

One year I got juggling balls and we all learned to juggle.

One year I got the girls ballet suits and they’d make up their own dances and plays together and perform them for us. Today they put on youtube videos and learn ballet whenever they’re in the mood.

Our very poorest years I just check out books at the library like an ASL dictionary and we all learn ASL. This can be informally such as leaving the book on the couch and kids picking it up and teaching themselves. Or one year I did a more formal homeschool class of twice a week and taught the kids since I do know ASL.

Remember doing activities at home saves you a lot of time.

When my son asks me to play soccer with him and I don’t think I have time or energy, I remember that if I had to take him to a lesson or game it would take about 2 hours of my day. So certainly I can spare 30 minutes of playing with him. And the added bonus is that we make memories and build a relationship together. That wouldn’t happen if I took him to a lesson and I sat on my phone the whole time.

More Ideas for DIY extracurricular activities at home

So, your child wants to do:

• calligraphy–Buy calligraphy markers and a calligraphy book. Sit at the table with your child while they practice. Better yet, join in! Learn alongside your youngster. You will feel so good doing an activity that your child enjoys. If you really don’t want to, at least be at the table writing to your mom, cooking dinner on the stove nearby, mopping the floor, etc. Praise and encourage your child the entire time.
• a bowling class–Buy a good quality bowling set for the yard and let the child practice as much as he wants. Have a family bowling night where you all play with it. Then have a special family night going to a real bowling alley. Most of the time, just a home set or one night at the bowling alley is all a child needs to indulge in the bowling interest.
• golf– This is similar to bowling. Try to set up a putting range at home if possible and get a decent quality golf set so he can play anytime he wants.
• ski lessons–uh…uh…, maybe it’s best for the child to actually take the lessons unless you happen to have a ski slope in your back yard and can buy the equipment and teach him yourself. Or there’s still the option of just taking him once or twice a season if that’s cheaper than lessons. And you’ll get the bonding, quality time your child craves to have with you.
• cheerleading–Buy a cheerleading outfit and let her make up cheers at home. Cheer by the side of the tramp while a sibling does a flip. Cheer while Dad watches football or basketball on TV.
• basketball–Install a basketball hoop in your cul-de-sac, driveway, or back yard. Or even a Nerf one over your son’s bedroom door. Play with him, encourage friends to come play. Kids don’t always need organized sports when they’re interested in something. Maybe they just want to play for fun.
• crochet–Buy some yarn and a book from the library. Off she’ll go in no time! All of my kids have taught themselves. They’ve made blankets, scarves, hats, doll clothes, etc. And take a look at what Kaitlyn is making!
• gymnastics–Buy a leotard and let them do flips on the couch or trampoline, take her to squishy grass to learn to do cartwheels, put out a log or piece of wood for a beam. Or take her to a park with a balance beam.
• football–buy a flag football set and play as a family or encourage him to get a nightly game going with the neighbor kids. Studies have shown pick up games are better for kids than organized sports. Free to Learn is an excellent book that talks about this and how kids need to learn and play on their own.

You get the picture now. I’m sure whatever your child wants to learn you can start the learning process by providing for it at home.

The little kids doing a gymnastics meet in the yard. They made a vault out of pillows and blankets, a balance beam out of a long wood beam, and bars out of the lowest branch in the cherry tree. The older kids watched and cheered them on.

Determine the level of interest

Go with your gut if this passion is something your child is born to do or is merely a passing interest.

When a toddler starts throwing balls often a parent will determine he’s gifted and be so excited to enroll him in baseball as early as possible. This isn’t necessary unless the child is begging for it and wants more than you can offer. But mostly children just love to throw. Get him a toddler hoop and ball and give him plenty of access/time to use it–put it right in the living room so he’ll play with it while the family is hanging out. Play catch with him outside as often as he wants. Get him a bean bag toss too and child safe horseshoes game. See what kind of throwing he really enjoys.

Same with basketball. When your 8 year old is saying he wants to play basketball, does he want to sign up for a real team and have the commitment of practices and games? Or does he just want to play for fun on his own time? Find a way to get a hoop in your yard or send him next door to play on the neighbor’s. Take him to a park or school with a court and play with him a couple of hours a week. That’s less time than practices and games and maybe that’s all your child wants: to learn some techniques from you and spend time with a parent. Most kids really just want to learn and teach themselves and to play for stress-relief. They don’t want an organized sport that adds more stress.

See if your child wants to be serious about the sport or just take a class at a rec center that is laid back and fun. Or if they’d like to have equipment at home to play on. If they are passionate about it and want more than you can offer, by all means, sign up for classes. Maybe they do want to play it in college and become a coach or make a career out of it. Follow your gut, not what other parents are doing. You will know what is best for your child.

Get over the guilt of not having your children in classes

I’ve been a mom for 23 years and it’s hard seeing others put their kids in classes and for me not be able to afford to or feel it’s right for our family. I feel like a failure that my kids haven never had swim lessons. But then I remind myself we could never afford them and I didn’t want the schedule of having 6 or 8 kids in swim lessons at a time. Can you imagine?! But when we got invited to a pool I did what I could to teach them to swim and encouraged them to teach themselves. I have a few really good, confident swimmers and those are the ones who were determined to teach themselves and ask for help. Others aren’t great swimmers but are fine with it. They can still learn if they decide to; you’re never too old to learn.

I’m getting over the guilt and realizing my young adults turned out just fine. They have no scars from not getting classes. They think they turned out better than their peers who were put in classes from a young age and are now burnt out in college. Instead my 4 college kids had a lot of free time in their childhood to play outside, explore, and create. Conversely, they came to college fresh and eager to learn and work hard. Your kiddos may be better off without the extracurricular classes than with also.

Final Thoughts about DIY extracurricular activities at home

Do it at home now, and in college later

My oldest , Kylie, always wanted a ballet class but I never once signed her up for one. I’ve always wished I could have. On her first day of college she sent me this picture saying she’s finally enrolled in a ballet class! It made me cry. She was so happy and so excited. I was thrilled her dream had come true. So my last point is that kids can always take classes in college. For me that is much easier because everything is right there within walking distance. No commute into town with babies and toddlers in tow. Also, it’s included in the cost of tuition. She can do whatever she wants! And she is! She’s taking so many fun classes of things she’s always wanted to learn.

When Kylie was three, our teenage friend took harp lessons and invited us to her house for a little harp recital. Kylie fell in love with it and for 14 years talked about playing the harp, asked to take lessons, and pretended she played the harp. When she went to BYU the first class she signed up for was harp! And she is flying through the books much faster than other students. Her teacher is amazed. It’s because she’s wanted to for so long that she’s extra committed to practicing and making this dream come true. She’s now played it for four years and is soo good. Yes it would have been great to have bought a harp and gotten her lessons as a child. Here’s a youtube video of her 2nd solo recital. It’s beautiful!

If your child is supposed to play something, she’ll get a chance. The desire will never leave her and the opportunity will arise. And the rewards are that much greater having waited for it. So if you can’t do it now, your child has her whole life to find a way to make it happen and she will. For now provide her with plenty of free play time to pretend to do all those things she wants to do and enjoy her stress-free childhood. Keep it up, Mom, you’re doing great!

PS Thomas’s cello ambitions

PS. While looking for Kylie’s pictures I found these of Thomas who always wanted to play the cello. He would make one out of Tinkertoys and play it for hours. How my heart wished I could buy him one! Only I was afraid it wouldn’t be as fun to have a real one because his imagination told him he was playing beautifully, haha. And sometimes that is the case. When kids get the real instrument they are no longer interested because it’s not as fun as pretending to play. But when they’re older they’re ready to handle the challenge of really learning an instrument or sport. When Thomas was 14 he was given one by a friend who didn’t want hers anymore and now he teaches himself and loves it.